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Saddam's former minister Aziz seriously ill: lawyer

Posted on: Thursday, 12 January 2006, 07:43 CST

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz is ailing and may have only weeks to live, his lawyer said on Thursday after visiting the man who was once the public face of Saddam Hussein's regime abroad.

"He is suffering from high blood pressure and he cannot walk properly. His situation is very bad. He is being given 13 pills a day for his blood pressure, diabetes and other illnesses to prevent strokes," lawyer Badia Aref told Reuters.

"If you look at him you would say that he has only a few weeks to live."

Saddam's loyal minister Aziz was jailed after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. No formal charges have yet been brought against him.

U.S. forces, who have physical custody over detained former senior members of Saddam's regime, allowed Aziz's family to visit him last August.

No reason was given for the visit, which lasted just 30 minutes, but it was the first allowed by U.S. forces. Aziz's sister said afterwards only that her brother looked tired and made no mention of his ill-health.

Aziz's attorney has been fighting to get his client, who is in his late sixties, released from jail. He has said previously that he does not expect him to be put on trial.

"I went to see him on the first day of Eid (the Islamic religious festival). He was in a very bad condition. His situation has deteriorated since the last time I saw him," Aref said.

"This time he was having difficulty focusing. He wasn't listening to me at all and kept on repeating one thing: 'I want to see my family, I want to see my children'."

Aref said he had spoken of his concerns to the colonel supervising Aziz who had told him he would take the matter up with higher authorities. The U.S. military said it was checking the report but had no immediate information on Aziz's health.

Source: REUTERS

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